Intensive in Sussex

Schedule

Friday 24 - Monday 27 May

4 days over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May - an opportunity to dive deep into the practice.

Friday: 5.00 - 7.00 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Asana: 9.30 - 12.00 am
Sound: 3.30 - 4.45 pm
Pranayma: 5.00 - 6.30 pm
Monday: 9.30 - 12.30 am

What will happen in this Intensive?

A crucial part of this intensive will be the opportunity to embark on an understanding of the role that sound plays in the practice of yoga. That’s why there are three sessions a day on Saturday and Sunday. All three classes will be practical in nature (no need to bring a notebook!!).

Prashant Iyengar, BKS Iyengar’s son, has investigated the energetic qualities of vibration and resonance within both asana and pranayama practice - he suggests that, in fact, pranayama can only really happen through the practice of sound forms.

In diving in to an experience of how sound can bring another level of perception to our asana and pranayama practice we also need to begin to understand the role of the five elements of nature - space, air, fire, water & earth. So this intensive will also address how the elements manifest in our practice - and why that’s important!

This investigation is philosophical in nature - however, the teaching will aim to allow elemental qualities to emerge in our practical asana and pranayama work.

Who is this workshop for?
Regular practitioners of Iyengar yoga - with a minimum of 2 years practice - are very welcome. The sound form work (and the pranayama) will be of particular interest to more experienced practitioners. The teaching will embrace the yoga philosophy of Patanjali - although in a deeply embodied way. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what the idea of “yoga as union” has to do with the practice of asana then this is the right work for you!

Where will this happen?

Hanuman Yoga Studio

The Hanuman Yoga Studio - a beautiful, fully equipped Iyengar yoga studio forming part of an old farm building in rural mid Sussex, not far from Forest Row, about 40 minutes from Lewes. Created with devotion and love by Sarah Delfas, a dedicated Iyengar Yoga practitioner, it has underfloor heating, a rope wall, and hanging ropes.

Directions & info

Payment

Whole Intensive: £125.00
Early Bird (till 30 March 2024): £100.00
Single sessions: Friday evening: £20.00
Saturday or Sunday morning: £30.00

Please get in touch if you would like to come but the fee is unaffordable. Bursary places and concession rates are available.

Email Zoë to enquire!

Can I come just to one session?

The teaching will be methodical and progressive over the course of the 4 days. It will be fine to come to the first class on Friday, or either of the asana classes on Saturday and Sunday morning, but the work in the afternoons and on Monday morning will follow on from previous sessions. However, priority will be given to those booking the whole intensive. To enquire about drop in places for specific sessions please email Zoë Reason

Logistics

Accommodation is not provided.
There are a number of lovely local campsites, and holiday cottages to suit various budgets, in the area. We can point you towards good possibilities!
Sharpthorne is about 40 minutes drive from Lewes, 10 from Forest Row, and 15 from East Grinstead. Where necessary we will try and put you in touch with people that can offer lifts.

There is a generous gap between the end of the asana class in the morning and the start of the afternoon sessions. We suggest you bring a packed lunch - but there is enough time to decamp to Forest Row and find something to eat and digest it before the pranayama class.

The Hanuman Yoga Studio is in the one of the most beautiful parts of Sussex - and May is an idyllic time to explore the glorious countryside.

Why Zoë is keen to teach this

On a practical note Zoë no longer feels comfortable teaching yoga holidays in places that require students to get on a aeroplane. But she really misses the intensity and zeal which a group can establish when they come together for a period of time. She also really misses the students she worked with for many years in Sussex. When Sarah opened the Hanuman Yoga Studio she immediately fell in love with the place and wanted to work there.

Zoë has studied for many years with Rajiv Chanchani who is one of Prashant Iyengar’s closest students (Rajiv has edited many of Prashant’s books). Zoë has has been actively working with Prashant’s teaching over the last decade, both in Pune and since the pandemic online. Whilst Rajiv was the most amazing introduction to Prashant’s work, much of Prashant’s teaching on the sound forms, although deeply intriguing, had felt inaccessible. In 2018 she began working with Sanskrit teacher and sound practitioner Lucy Crisfield, and began learning Sanskrit. Lucy showed her (and her English-speaking ear) what an Indian-speaking teacher had assumed she must already know - and some of the dots started to join. In sounding the Sanskrit with Lucy, the subtlety and extraordinary majesty of Prashantji’s teaching has been revealed.

Zoë is keen to begin to introduce this subtle but tangible work to English speaking practitioners.